Kirbys Epic Yarn review

I haven’t played a proper Kirby game since the N64 so I was looking forward to Kirby’s Epic Yarn. Yes I know it’s twee but it’s good clean fun. Anyway the story’s quite trippy. Basically Kirby happens across a tomato that belongs to a sorcerer and gets transported from Dream Land to Patch Land. Oh, and another thing, he’s now made of yarn so instead of sucking up bad guys and using their powers he can now transform into all sorts of objects from tanks to fire engines as he finds pieces of yarn to put Patch Land back together.

You can play the game on your own or in co-op mode but as usual I suggest you go it alone because playing with a friend is often counter-productive as you accidentally pick each other up and push people off ledges. Thankfully you can’t really die in this game – just lose your gems Sonic style if you don’t pick them up once they’ve been spilled.

The game certainly has an element of primary school about it. It’s slow-paced, controls are simple and everything is super ‘nice’. The only thing missing is the smell of lavender when you open the game’s box. It’s also great that motion controls aren’t used for the sake of it to substitute a button press. For example, you tilt the remote to direct water coming out of the fire engine and it’s moments like this that it’s apparent great thought has been put into how it’s used.

Kirby makes his way through many varied lands on his travels. Amongst them are a prehistoric world full of dinosaurs and lava, treat land full of candy and toys and grass land where I’m surprised Kirby gets the motivation to do anything. What’s great about the game is the original way you make your way through the levels. You can pull on buttons to move bits of scenery, unravel bad guys or pick them up to lob at other things. As an adult it’s all rather simple but there’s something very cute and playable about the game nonetheless. Boss battles are even quite fun with the usual ‘hit the bad thing three times until it’s defeated’ mechanic.

As a platform game it’s the polar opposite of Donkey Kong Country Returns. If you want stress-free gaming that’s the equivalent of jumping into a pile of soft cushions then get Kirby’s Epic Yarn. If you want something that’s a real hardcore challenge then definitely don’t get this and play with the big gorilla instead.

Be warned, this game isn’t for everyone. Young girls will love this game, teenage boys will probably say it’s a bit gay. I’m not gay, but I did like it. Kirby’s Epic Yarn gets an excellent 8 out of 10.